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China's Green Dam-Youth Escort net filter draws fire

An image from the official website of the Green Dam-Youth Escort
project.

Asher MosesJune 9, 2009 - 2:43PM

China's requirement that internet filtering software be included
with all personal computers sold in the country has been seized on
by the Opposition as a sign the Federal Government's proposed
internet censorship scheme won't work.

The Oppositions' communications spokesman, Nick Minchin, said
the move showed that PC-level filters were a more practical option
than the ISP-level filters that form the basis of the Government's
policy.

"The Chinese Government is said to operate the most
sophisticated network level internet filtering system in the world,
yet it will require computer-level software to be installed because
many users are said to be able to circumvent the centralised 'Great
Firewall"," Senator Minchin said.

"While the Chinese are conceding that ISP-level filtering is not
a panacea for restricting access to online content, the Rudd
Government is spending millions of dollars to pursue this very
approach."

The Howard Government offered free PC-level filtering software
to all Australians under its NetAlert initiative, however, this was
recently shut down by the Rudd Government, which argued the
initiative was a failure.

A spokesman for the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy,
said the Government had acknowledged that ISP-level filtering was
"no silver bullet".

"The Rudd Government is more interested in developments in
countries like the UK, Sweden, Canada and Norway who have
implemented ISP level filtering than what is happening in China,"
the spokesman said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, China has told
global PC makers that all personal computers sold in the country as
of July 1 must be shipped with the software that blocks access to
certain websites.

It said the software, called "Green Dam-Youth Escort", would
link PCs with a regularly updated database of banned sites and
block access to those addresses.

The Journal said China's Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology issued a notice on May 19 requiring that PCs to be sold
in China as of July 1 have Green Dam software "preloaded" -
pre-installed or enclosed on a CD.

The head of a software developer involved in devising the
program confirmed the report to AFP, saying it was aimed at
protecting people from pornography.

"The software will be provided to consumers in new PCs and they
have the option to install or not to install it," said Bryan Zhang,
chief executive of Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co.

The regulation has come under fire from a US industry
association while the largest US PC makers say they are studying
the Chinese move.

"It's a very unfortunate development," said Ed Black, president
of the Computer and Communications Industry Association on
Monday.

"This is clearly an escalation of attempts to limit access and
the freedom of the internet," he told AFP. "It has economic and
trade as well as cultural and social ramifications."

Black said the Chinese move smacked of an attempt to "not only
control their own citizens access to the internet but to force
everybody into being complicit and participate in a level of
censorship".

"I hope the US Trade Representative, the State Department and
other agencies of government will try to step up and reverse the
decision," he said.

Two of the biggest US PC manufacturers, the Palo Alto,
California-based Hewlett-Packard and the Round Rock, Texas-based
Dell, told AFP they were seeking more information about the Chinese
move.

"HP is working closely with trade industry associations and ITI
(Information Technology Industrial Council) to seek additional
information, clarify open questions and monitor developments on
this matter," a spokeswoman said.

"We are aware of the policy," Dell said in a statement. "Along
with the rest of the industry, and relevant trade associations, we
are reviewing it and will work with government officials and others
to understand its application."

Microsoft, which provides the Windows software that runs most of
the world's PCs, said it planned to issue a statement later in the
day.

China has the world's largest online population at nearly 300
million web users, and the Chinese authorities have a history of
blocking websites they deem politically unacceptable or offensive,
a censorship system that has been dubbed the "Great Firewall of
China".